Over the past year concerns have been raised by politicians, business owners and Dublin city centre residents about the level of antisocial behaviour being experienced in the capital, on the streets and public transport.
Last October, Minister of State James Browne told The Irish Times he was concerned about an increase in antisocial behaviour among young people during the pandemic.
A number of initiatives have since been announced by the Government and gardaí in response. In April, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee outlined plans to boost the Garda presence on O’Connell Street with the opening of a new Garda station, while specific Garda operations targetted antisocial behaviour and drug dealing on O’Connell Street.
In June, Operation Irene began to crackdown on under-age alcohol consumption as well as drinking in public places. Meanwhile, Operation Saul – targeting antisocial behaviour on Luas, Dart and bus services – has seen 65 criminal charges brought since the start of the year. Over the same time thousands of incidents linked to antisocial behaviour on public transport were logged on the Garda Pulse system.
While these operations are ongoing, many people, including homeless people, members of the LGBT community and business owners, have expressed concern over the level of assaults and antisocial behaviour city. “There is an edge to the city. You can feel it when you are walking around,” Adrian Cummins, head of the Restaurants Association of Ireland told The Irish Times in May.
Do you have an opinion on antisocial behaviour in Dublin? Have you experienced it and do you have any suggestions to respond? If so, you can share your views in the form below. A selection of the submissions will be published in The Irish Times.
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